[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 162 (Friday, December 16, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13693-S13694]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FORMER SENATOR WILLIAM PROXMIRE
Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I rise today to mourn the passing and
celebrate the life of William Proxmire--a great Senator, a great
Wisconsinite, and a great man. It is particularly fitting that we pay
tribute to Senator Proxmire during this first part of morning
business--time he virtually always controlled during his over 30 years
in the Senate. He was a giant in the Senate in a time when this Chamber
was filled with giants. He followed his conscience, lived his
principles, said what he thought, and thought more actively and deeply
than most.
Senator Proxmire came to the Senate in 1957, winning a special
election to fill the seat of Joseph McCarthy. Overjoyed at a Democratic
pickup in a narrowly divided Senate, Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson met
Proxmire at the airport to shake his hand. Two years later, Senator
Proxmire was on the floor of the Senate calling LBJ a ``dictator'' in a
speech dubbed by the press as ``Proxmire's farewell address.''
But that was Prox: independent, outspoken, and not at all afraid to
challenge conventions or conventional wisdom. In fact, there was very
little that was conventional about William Proxmire.
He was a Democrat but not a reliable vote for the Democrats--or the
Republicans, for that matter. He was fiercely protective of consumer
rights, civil liberties, and oppressed minorities all over the world--a
true liberal Democrat on social issues. But he also had a legendary
frugal streak, perhaps a product of his Harvard business school
background. He believed in the free market and business competition,
and hated to see money wasted. His Golden Fleece awards and relentless
scrutiny of Department of Defense procurement were renowned--and shamed
the powers-that-be into saving many hundreds of millions of taxpayer
dollars.
He did not accept sloppiness or waste in Government or in the conduct
of his own business and personal affairs. He started each day with
hundreds of push-ups and a 5-mile run. He demanded of his office the
same sort of efficiencies he demanded from the rest of Government and
returned one-third of his office budget to the Treasury every year.
He was as disciplined as he was determined. He still holds the record
for most consecutive rollcall votes: 10,252 between April of 1966 and
October of 1988. And there are colleagues still serving today who
remember his daily morning business speeches on the Senate floor.
Most of these speeches were on the Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This convention languished in the
Senate for over 20 years, viewed as a lost cause by its few supporters.
But not William Proxmire. He gave a speech about the convention every
day the Senate was in session from 1967 to 1986, when the convention
was ratified by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 83 to 11--3,211 speeches
in all. One former staff member remembers that Senator Proxmire was
often the only Member on the floor during his speeches, so he
concentrated on the Presiding Officer. So one by one, he reasoned and
cajoled his captive colleagues into supporting this seminal human
rights measure.
William Proxmire didn't only fight for his principles, he lived them.
He was the last of the true populist politicians, who took no campaign
contributions, spent virtually nothing on his campaigns, and shook the
hand of almost everyone in the State of Wisconsin--whether they
supported him or not. Though he broke every rule of modern campaign
strategy, he won his reelections in landslides and was beloved by the
people of Wisconsin.
Senator Proxmire leaves behind his wife Ellen, five children, and
nine grandchildren. He also is mourned by his Senate family, both those
Senators who served with him and the members of his staff renowned for
their professionalism, intelligence and loyalty. Neither Wisconsin nor
the Senate will see his equal again, and both are the poorer for his
passing.
Mr. President, I yield the floor to my colleague from Wisconsin,
Senator Feingold.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wisconsin is recognized.
Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I thank the senior Senator from
Wisconsin, my friend.
Mr. President, anybody who grew up in Wisconsin in the second half of
the 20th century regarded William Proxmire as a consummate Wisconsin
political figure.
I rise, too, with great sadness to pay tribute to one of Wisconsin's
and the Nation's great public servants. Senator Proxmire passed away
early yesterday morning at the age of 90. He was, simply put, a legend
in Wisconsin, a man who represented the very best of our State, and who
will be remembered as one of the greatest advocates for a better
government, and a healthier democracy, to ever serve in this body.
On this very floor he railed against Government waste, and against
corruption. I think the American people can be grateful to Bill
Proxmire for so many things. But, perhaps most of all, we owe him a
debt of gratitude for his work to change the culture in Congress when
it comes to wasteful spending.
He didn't buy into a culture that treats Government spending like a
tab that someone else will pick up, that tucks pork-barrel spending
into bills late at night, or lets boondoggles slip by unnoticed. He
knew that sunlight was the best disinfectant, and he wasn't afraid to
tear down the drapes, throw open the windows, and let the sun shine in
on the legislative process. He didn't shy away from public outrage
about what was wrong with the system--he brought that outrage to bear
as he fought to change the system for the better. Anyone who comes to
the floor today to try to put the brakes on a wasteful project, or to
try to push for budget discipline, can thank Bill Proxmire for the
example he set, and for the way he challenged the status quo.
I am not just grateful for what Bill Proxmire did for our State, and
our country, but, frankly, for the many things that he taught me. He
was a tireless representative for our State. Watching Proxmire, you
couldn't help but learn how important it was to listen--really listen--
to the people you represent, and how much you can learn from that
genuine exchange of ideas. When Bill Proxmire hit the campaign trail,
it wasn't about a barrage of expensive ads. It was about connecting
with voters and giving them a chance to have their say--even when they
said something you didn't agree with. As he once joked, ``The biggest
danger for a politician is to shake hands with a man who is physically
stronger, has been drinking and is voting for the other guy.'' And he
knew that from experience because nobody--nobody ever in the history of
American politics, I believe--shook more hands than Bill Proxmire.
And the people of Wisconsin loved him for it. After an early career
of some tough defeats, once he won, he just kept on winning, with
reelection margins of 71 percent of the vote in 1970, 73 percent in
1976, and 65 percent in 1982, when he ran for a fifth 6-year term.
Incredibly, in those last 2 reelection campaigns he was reelected
despite refusing contributions altogether. A lot of the money he did
spend in his campaigns was on postage to return donations.
As somebody who wanted to run for public office myself, and as
somebody who kept being asked again, ``where are you going to get the
money to run?'' Bill Proxmire gave me hope. His example helped me to
believe that you can run on ideas, not just on money. And that example
didn't just help me in my run for office, it helped inspire me in the
fight for the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill, and the
ongoing fight against the undue influence of money in politics.
His example of real shoe-leather campaigning went hand in hand with
his work on open Government. He didn't just want to be accessible
himself, he thought all of Government should be open and responsive to
the people it served.
[[Page S13694]]
In this, as in so many things, he represented the true spirit of
Wisconsin, which pioneered laws in this area. He once said that ``Power
always has to be kept in check; power exercised in secret, especially
under the cloak of national security, is doubly dangerous.'' Today, as
we struggle for openness and oversight on national security issues, I
think his words have never been more true, and open, accountable
government has never been more important.
And then there's Bill Proxmire's lesson in courage. How many times
did he stand on this floor and say what needed to be said, truly
representing the people back home, saying what they would say if they
stood here themselves, about boondoggle projects, or the importance of
open government? Here was a man who knew what mattered, and knew how to
bring attention to a cause no one else was championing.
He was perhaps most famous for his Golden Fleece Awards, where he put
the spotlight on the kind of waste that, unfortunately, we still see
too much of in the Senate today. While most members just let waste pass
by unnoticed, Proxmire was unrelenting. Here are a couple choice
examples of Golden Fleece winners: To the National Institute of Dental
Research in 1984, for sponsoring a $465,000 study on the ``effects of
orthodontia on psycho-social functioning''; to 190 Federal officials in
September 1982, for door-to-door chauffeur service costing $3.4
million; and to the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration in
February 1977, for a $27,000 study of why prison inmates want to
escape.
I think that last one says it all about why the Golden Fleece awards
struck such a chord with the American public. There's a lot of numbness
in Washington to wasteful spending, but Bill Proxmire wasn't numb to
it. He was outraged by it. He had the innate aversion to waste that the
American people have, people who have to sit down at their kitchen
tables, work out a budget, and decide what they can afford, and what
they can't. They think that if they have to do this, we should to. So
Senator Proxmire stood up and demanded a little common sense, and a
measure of discipline for the Federal budget. It was very courageous
and very representative of the people who sent him here, I can tell
you.
This is a very sad day for our State. But it is also a day to reflect
on the Proxmire legacy, and to be proud of the impact he made on our
state, and on the Nation. He was a fighter, literally and figuratively.
He was a college boxing champ who managed to hold off two people who
tried to mug him near the Capitol, and then helped in a dragnet that
led to their arrest. He was a proud veteran, a newspaper reporter, and
a dogged campaigner who lost three races for office and was written off
by a lot of people in Wisconsin politics before he won the race to fill
the seat of Senator Joe McCarthy after McCarthy died in 1957.
He was as determined as they come, it was that quality that served
him so well during his years in this body. It continued to serve him
all his life, even as he fought a long and difficult battle against
Alzheimer's disease.
His wife Ellen, his children and grandchildren are in all of our
thoughts today. As we remember William Proxmire, and all that he did, I
feel deeply proud that he represented my State. He did great honor to
the State of Wisconsin by personifying the highest standards of public
service in this country. So I humbly honor his memory, and express my
gratitude for his outstanding service to our Nation to our democracy.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania.
Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I join the Senators from Wisconsin in
praising the late Senator William Proxmire. Neither of the Senators
currently representing Wisconsin was in the Chamber when Senator
Proxmire was here. The distinguished senior Senator, Mr. Kohl, was
elected in 1988, when Senator Proxmire retired. Senator Feingold was
elected in 1992. I had the opportunity to serve 8 years with Senator
Proxmire. He was a powerful figure. He sat in the last row on the
extreme right-hand side, the seat now occupied by Senator Rockefeller.
He was on the floor every day talking about genocide. He was the
conscience of the Senate, the conscience of the Congress, the
conscience of the country, really, the conscience of the world speaking
on that subject every single day.
He never missed a vote. I don't recollect exactly how many
consecutive votes he had, but I think it was in the range of 17,000
that he never missed.
He had a record for minimal expenditures on campaigns for his own
reelection. I recollect the average figure was about $173. That figure
sticks in my mind as to what he spent to be reelected. There is some
variance on what it costs to be reelected today to the U.S. Senate, but
he was a towering figure. There ought to be more Senators on the floor
commenting about him. Even our senior Senator, Mr. Lott, was not
elected until 1988 and Senator Gregg until 1992, so most of the
Senators who are around today didn't have the advantage of working with
Bill Proxmire. There is a difference between knowing about him and
actually seeing him in action and seeing him work. But he is a legend.
The Senators from Wisconsin have spoken eloquently about him. I
wanted to add my voice in tribute to Bill Proxmire. He is still sitting
in that chair. I still hear talk about the necessity to eliminate
genocide. That voice, once lonely, is now the predominant voice. A good
bit of what he has said has been accepted around the world to the
benefit of humanity.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senator from New
Hampshire is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 15 minutes
which was to go to the majority for morning business be expanded a
little bit and that 7 minutes be yielded to the Senator from Florida,
then 5 minutes to the Senator from New Hampshire, and then 7 minutes to
the Senator from Oklahoma.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mr. KENNEDY. Reserving the right to object, and I don't intend to,
what is the business before the Senate now?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate is currently in morning business.
Mr. KENNEDY. And what time do we start the 1 hour prior to the
cloture vote?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there is 15 minutes
to be controlled by the majority at the present time. Then the Senate
will proceed to the debate on the PATRIOT Act.
Mr. KENNEDY. At that time, after this consent agreement, then the
hour tolls prior to the cloture vote; am I correct?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The hour begins.
Mr. KENNEDY. And the time is divided?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct.
Mr. KENNEDY. So just as a point of information, what time do we
expect that time will begin, if the pending request for time is agreed
to and whatever time the floor leaders agreed to?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. If the pending request is agreed to, that
would be 20 minutes from now.
Mr. KENNEDY. I thank the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the unanimous consent
request?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Senator from Florida is recognized for 7 minutes.
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